Don't Wait for Others

*I've decided to post the question for the week below. Your answer to the question will be your challenge for the week. Please post your answer in the Facebook Group so we can collaborate!*

I wanted to desensitize myself to the stereotype that all homeless people are dangerous and should be ignored. I grew up in a culture that spoke of people who are homeless as homeless people, as if their identity was intrinsically connected to their being in the world. So, my junior year of college I told many of my friends about my idea of volunteering at the local homeless shelter. Weeks went by without anybody bringing the topic up again to me.

For some reason I thought that I soon as I expressed an idea that all of my friends would rally around me and we could volunteer at the homeless shelter together....well, I was wrong. It wasn't that my friends were heartless as much as it was the fact that they were busy, they had their own dreams, their own initiative, and I was waiting on them to have my dreams, my initiatIves.

I waited for months for any of those friends to approach me and to praise my servant heart, but it did not happen, not once. So what did I do? I forgot about it. Obviously if my friends don’t want to do it, that means I can’t do it.

A year went by until the tension returned as I started asking the questions again:

What if Jesus actually met what he said about caring for the poor and the powerless?

What if it wasn't just an idea?

What if Jesus was just talking about neighbor as not only my white friends but also my neighbors that are minorities, those who are homeless?

It’s stirred so much in me that I did not even care what my friends thought this time. I knew nobody had the same dreams that I had, that's why they were mine for a reason. So I went, by myself oftentimes, because it was something that I needed to do, for myself. I did that for the second semester of my senior year, it took a year for me to build up the courage to initiate something by myself.

My friends did rally around me when they realized that I actually put my dream into action. It inspired them to volunteer at the homeless shelter and all the sudden we had six people who are interested in volunteering. Small movements happen when one person decides to act on a dream, no matter the social consequences, no matter the sacrifice. That type of boldness inspires others to action.

With that said, it’s not that easy. The challenge this week is this, do the thing that you’ve been afraid to do yourself. Do the thing, that you’ve been waiting on all your friends to join you in order to initiate. What is it in your life? Whatever it is, let’s collaborate together in the Facebook group.